1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an actuating device having means for blocking movements of an actuating device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Actuating devices of this type are employed, e.g., in motor vehicles, to operate a system, e.g., an air conditioning system and/or an audio system and/or a navigation device. The actuating devices communicate further, e.g., via a computer unit with a display. As a rule, they have defined haptics, which can change with the change in switching states, and are prior in the art in the form of, e.g., rotary knobs, rocker switches, and joysticks and optionally as combinations of said means.
German Patent Application No. DE 102 34 512 A1 discloses an actuating device with a rotary knob, in which guide races, each of which has a channel with a different height, are provided for haptics realization. In the guide races, balls transmit an oscillating movement to the rotary knob.
German Patent Application No. DE 100 22 450 A1 discloses a control unit for controlling a pointer on a display unit; the control unit consists of a lower shell and an upper shell, whereby a sensor unit to detect the force acting on the control unit is disposed in the lower shell. A control unit evaluates the signals from the sensors.
Blocking means, however, are not described in these publications.
It is desirable or necessary in some cases, e.g., depending on the position of the actuating device, to restrict individual movement options in order to prevent faulty operations. To this end, German Patent Application No. DE 101 20 618 A1, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,356, proposes providing two independently triggered stop mechanisms, acting on a control shaft, at an actuating device, whereby the one stop mechanism restricts rotation to the left and the other, rotary movement to the right. For this purpose, in each case, a clip-like ring with internal toothing is disposed around an annular element attached to the control shaft and having outer toothing. The ring can be influenced by an electromagnet so that the internal toothing and external toothing do or do not mesh. This prior-art stop mechanism requires a relatively large amount of space and is susceptible to wear and tear.